Star Wars The Clone Wars: Yavin IV
by zeldas.lullaby
Summary: This takes place directly after the Star Wars Clone Wars movie. Anakin and Ahsoka have been chosen, along with Obi-Wan, to go to Yavin IV, where Grievous has last been spotted. A true must read for any Star Wars fan fiction reader! Reviews are welcomed!
1. Chapter 1

**Update: Since I see that people are still reading this after all these years, I have edited the text so that it is not so crammed together anymore, and has more spaces. Sorry I hadn't before! I wrote this story when I was 11 after all!**

**I have also corrected any spelling and grammar errors I've noticed while editing. I hope you enjoy it! (: Please R & R, reviews are appreciated. Even though this is an old story, I could still use some constructive criticism if you have any.**

Chapter 1: Back to Silver City

The planet of Coruscant was the heart of the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Senate. It was visited by outlandish creatures and humanoids from all over the galaxy, mostly known for it's exciting nightlife and clubs, such as the gambler's hotspot the _Outlander. _It was also the location of the mighty Jedi Temple, where Jedi study and receive missions.

At the top of the Temple there is the circular Jedi Council chamber, where 12 Jedi representatives vote on decisions to be made within the Order. At the moment, the Jedi Council members were beginning a very important meeting. As the 12 Jedi entered the chamber, Master Yoda, rumored the most wise and powerful Jedi Master at over 800 years old, could tell that the Jedi were exhausted.

_Hard time for the Jedi, it is. Rest in this war, they have not. And rest they WILL not, until ended the Clone Wars has. _Yoda thought to himself, as each Jedi took their seats slowly.

Yoda could see that most of the Jedi were intently looking out the many vast windows that overlooked the gleaming silver city. Probably wondering what war issue this meeting was tied to. Yoda was the first to speak up, his green wrinkled face giving a cheeky grin.

"Good morning, Jedi. How you are today, hmm?"

The Council sighed, not really in the mood to smile.

Mace Windu, another senior council member, rubbed his temples and mumbled sarcastically, "Great."

Everyone was silent for a while, until Yoda said in a crackly voice, "Start, shall we not? Great news, we have. General Grievous and droids, spotted they have been. Believed headed to the Fourth Moon of Yavin."

At the sound of General Grievous's name, the Jedi leaned on the edge of their chairs in interest. The droid general was one of the Top 3 people that if destroyed, the war would come to a quicker end, along with Count Dooku, and Dooku's unknown Sith master.

Yoda continued. "Another advantage to catch Grievous. Informed the Republic, I have. Send a Jedi, said they."

All the Jedi turned to one another and nodded their heads. The Fourth Moon of Yavin was small, so Grievous couldn't bring a big droid army, they supposed. And getting through a few droids wasn't a big deal for a Jedi general and a group of clones.

"And we can finally catch that monster!" Shaak Ti, a Togrutan Jedi Master, announced.

"But, wait." Mace Windu interrupted in a serious tone. "Who will we send? Most Jedi and their clones are busy fighting elsewhere. We shouldn't just interfere with their missions and ask them to come back to Coruscant. I don't think there are any Jedi nearby who are able to kill a lot of time." The Council suddenly started to sulk once more.

It was true, there really wasn't any Jedi available. But Yoda just beamed at Mace Windu, his green ears wiggling.

"One there is. Likes a challenge, he does." As Yoda stood and picked up his gimer stick, Mace Windu realized what Yoda was thinking, and shook his head.

As the meeting was dismissed, Mace Windu mumbled to himself, "Oh, for star's sake."

** . . .**

A Republic Attack Cruiser slowly made it's way into Coruscant's atmosphere. It's scorched plating showed the many battles it's been through, fighting for the Republic. Mostly used for wars against the Separatists in deep space or over planets, it also was transportation for one particular Jedi, his Padawan, and a group of clone troopers.

Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was on the Cruiser's deck, looking down at Coruscant from a bird's eye view.

_It looks like thousands of lights from space. _Anakin thought.

Even though Coruscant from space was a familiar sight for Anakin, it still amazed him. Or maybe Anakin didn't go to Coruscant as often. _Especially after that last mission with-_

Suddenly, as if on cue, Anakin felt an annoying tap on his soldier. "Ah!" Anakin yelped, turning around with a stern look on his face.

A 14-year-old Togruta was trying to hold back her laughter as she pulled back a pointy finger. "Sheesh, Sky Guy, sorry! Didn't mean to….scare you!"

She smiled, biting her bottom lip. Anakin groaned and rolled his eyes. "I was NOT scared, Ahsoka." He insisted, pointing a black gloved finger at his Padawan.

"Yes you were." Ahsoka taunted, her hands on her hips.

"I was not!"

"Yes you were!"

"I was NOT!"

"General." A voice interrupted them. The clone commander, Captain Rex, stood between the two bickering Jedi, followed by a pair of clone troopers.

"We are about to land on Coruscant." Captain Rex reported as the two clones behind him stood like statues.

"Thanks, Rex, ol' boy." Ahsoka said with a wink. Captain Rex saluted. "My pleasure." He replied, and trotted away, walking simultaneously with the two clones following him.

Ahsoka and Anakin glared at each other after Captain Rex left. "Padawan, you have a lot to learn. Lucky I'm your master." Anakin said with triumph. Ahsoka snorted and gave him a smirk. "Yeah. I bet I'm the luckiest Padawan in the galaxy!" she muttered, looking up at the ceiling.

"Oh, and don't forget, I saved your life one too many times, Sky Guy!" She added. Anakin was about to respond to Ahsoka's sarcastic comment, but decided not to. "Come on, strap yourself in, Snips."

Ahsoka stuck her nose in the air and grinned, feeling like she won a battle. Anakin and Ahsoka sat down and snapped on their seatbelts next to Captain Rex as the Cruiser dove nose-first into Coruscant's atmosphere.

Normally, Anakin would be thinking of why the Council was asking of Anakin and his Padawan "to come back to Coruscant right away". But today, as he looked at the lights of Coruscant, his mind was on the mission, but his heart was elsewhere. He folded his hands together, closed his eyes, and meditated.

_Padme. Wait for me._

**. . .**

The Republic Attack Cruiser landed with ease. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Captain Rex unbuckled and walked down the landing ramp.

"Back to Silver City!" Ahsoka commented. Mace Windu and a plethora of clones were there to greet them. Anakin and Ahsoka gave a small bow to Mace Windu.

"Skywalker, the Council has been expecting you. We have a mission for you and your Padawan. It is critical for this war."

Ahsoka's eyes widened and she flashed a big grin. She nudged Anakin and whispered excitedly, "Must be somethin' special, huh!" But Anakin wasn't excited. He thought he would be able to stay on Coruscant for a little bit longer before he left for yet another "long and dangerous" mission. To settle down for a while.

"Please meet us in the Council chambers in 2 hours. I suggest you rest for the time being." Mace Windu then walked away, gingerly patting a napkin on his sweaty forehead as the clones walked with him.

"Well, he sure looks stressed." Ahsoka wondered out loud, trying to spark a conversation. But Anakin remained silent.

"Hey, Ahsoka?" He said, looking at the skyscrapers around them. They seemed to go on forever.

"Yeah, Sky Guy?" Ahsoka asked as she twirled her white-and-blue lekku.

"Do you ever get tired of missions? Don't you just want to stay on Coruscant and just….catch up with some stuff?"

Ahsoka thought for a second, then gave him a shrug. "Um, sometimes. I guess I like to catch up on my reading at the archives. Is that what you meant?"

Anakin stroked his chin, feeling stupid for even asking that question. "Yeah….sort of. I'll...see you later."

Anakin found his yellow starfighter parked next to the Republic Attack Cruiser. As Anakin opened the hatch, he shouted, "I'll meet you at the Temple!" Then he jumped inside, started the engine, and glided into the scenery.

Ahsoka shook her head as Captain Rex looked up at the sky.

"He's always on the move."

Rex removed his helmet and told her, "Well you know him, always making the most on his trips back to Coruscant."

Ahsoka nodded. "Yeah." She said. "Probably catching up on his reading."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Padme

Anakin wove his way through Coruscant in his Jedi Starfighter, watching as it's citizens were busy on the move, shopping and eating. When he finally found the right building, he smiled. Carefully landing the starfighter on the balcony, the top popped open and the engines died down.

Anakin jumped out of the cockpit and saw Senator Padme Amidala. She was grinning and crying. The two embraced, overjoyed to see each other again.

"Anakin! I'm so glad your back!" Padme whispered, tears dripping down her cheeks. Anakin took off his glove and wiped her teary eyes.

"Me, too." Anakin said, kissing her on the cheek. Suddenly, from inside Padme's apartment, a golden protocol droid approached the two. It's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, Master Anakin! You've returned! Oh how worried I was! That mission with Jabba the Hutt's son surely was a—" Anakin put his hand on the droid's vocabulator, cutting him off.

"I'm glad to see you, too, 3P0!" Anakin said with a grin. "Where's Artoo?"

C-3P0 nodded "yes" and retorted, "Oh, that R2 unit was asking for you every morning! Here he comes now!"

A small astromech droid rolled into the room, beeping excitedly at it's master.

"Hey, Artoo! You're not giving Padme any trouble, are you?" Anakin joked.

Padme giggled as R2's dome-shaped head shook from left to right. Padme squeezed Anakin's hand. "Come inside, let's talk." She said, and pulled him into her living room, which was exposed to the outdoors like the balcony. But it's snow white furniture gave it a high-class regal design.

The two sat down on the couch, while C-3P0 hurried to the kitchen to get drinks. "You two enjoy yourselves!" C-3P0 added as he left. Padme leaned her head on Anakin's shoulder. "So," She asked. "Are you having fun with your Padawan?"

Anakin snorted, thinking of Ahsoka. "Well, you know, she's only 14." Anakin replied. Padme looked into his eyes and said, "Well, I was 14 when I was first elected Queen of Naboo. It doesn't really matter how young you are, it just matters if you're strong-willed and have a big heart. Then anything's possible." Anakin nodded.

"That she is, Padme. But terribly reckless, if you ask me." Padme lifted up her head and started laughing. Anakin raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asked. Padme tilted her head. "You know who she reminds me of?"

"Who?"

She smiled and said, "Well, don't you see it? She's YOU! You were so reckless when you were young. Since I met you on Tatooine, you were entering in that dangerous Podrace! You scared your mother to death!" Suddenly, Anakin froze.

_My mother…..those Tusken Raiders…..how could they?...I was too late… _

Thoughts rushed through his head. His eyebrows squeezed together. Anakin held his head in his hands. Padme's eyes widened and she quickly said, "No, no, no! That's not what I meant, I'm sorry! You did the best you could, your mother's in a better place now!"

Anakin looked up. His face was red. "Okay…" He muttered, sighing. Padme changed the subject.

"Well, anyway, don't judge your Padawan so hard. If you look closely, it's like you. You and her both wanted to be free. Just give it some time and…..you'll get to know her. I heard from Obi-Wan that you were quite a team at the Battle of Chrisostiphis."

C-3P0 entered the living room with a tray of drinks. R2 was following him, beeping furiously. "No, R2, I'M bringing the drinks! Stupid short-circuit, you must realize I am fully capable of WOAH!"

C-3P0 tripped on a footrest and the drinks spilled all over the floor. Anakin and Padme laughed.

R2 beeped matter-of-factly. C-3P0 looked at the droid astonished. "This is all your fault!" The angry protocol droid shouted at the R2 unit.

He stormed back to the kitchen, Padme and Anakin still in balls of laughter, muttering, "How rude!"

**. . .**

For the rest of his visit, Anakin and Padme talked about many things. But one thing they talked about the most was the corrupt Senate.

"I don't understand!" Padme mused. "I thought that having Palpatine as a Chancellor would help the Senate immensely. He's such a good man, and was a strong ally of Naboo. But it seems not much has changed. When we got back from Geonosis, Jar Jar informed me that he had given emergency powers to Chancellor Palaptine. I thought it was a good idea at first, but….."

She trailed off and became silent. Anakin tried to help. He put his mechanical arm around her and said, "Well, Palpatine is a good man. He thinks I'm an exceptional Jedi Knight, and always did think so. I'm sure not _everything _is the same!"

Padme thought a moment. _Had I missed something? Is the Senate not as bad as it has been in Valorum's leadership? _Padme decided to agree, for she always listened to Anakin's views.

"I suppose not. I guess your right." She said. Anakin smiled. "There we go!" He said. Padme forced a weak grin.

Suddenly, Anakin gasped. _The meeting! _He remembered. "I've got to go, Padme! I'm late!" Anakin said, quickly, racing to his starfighter. Padme followed. Before Anakin closed the hatch, Padme hollered, "Wait!"

Anakin paused and looked back at her. She softened. "I love you!" Padme said. Anakin picked her up and kissed her. "I love you, too. I'll be back to say good bye before I leave on probably another mission."

Padme added, "How about you bring your Padawan? I'd love to meet her!"

Anakin shrugged. He didn't exactly WANT to bring Ahsoka with him, but said, "Uh…okay." He leaped into the cockpit, and soon he was gone.

Padme turned around as she heard C-3P0 cry, "Oh, Mistress Padme!" C-3P0 was trying to bend down to clean up the mess of the drinks he left, but couldn't bend down enough. "Um, I can't seem to reach!" Padme smiled and went to help.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Meeting

Anakin quickly landed the Jedi Starfighter in front of the Jedi Temple. When he got out, he ran inside. Anakin was in such a rush, he ran into the Archives Director, Jocasta Nu, who was walking in the lobby.

"Boy, you better watch where your going!" Jocasta remarked, flattening her dress. Anakin bowed respectfully, for Jocasta was a former Jedi Knight, and was very intelligent when it came to the history of the Jedi.

"Pardon me, Madame, but I'm really in a hurry. The Council is expecting me." Anakin tried to say as calmly as he could.

Before Jocasta Nu could breathe another word, he brushed past her and stepped into the nearest elevator. As the elevator doors closed, he realized a cloaked figure was standing next to him. Anakin turned his head and asked, "The top floor please."

The figure removed the cloak.

"Hey, Sky Guy!"

Anakin was surprised to see Ahsoka, but tried not to show it. "Hey, Snips. You heard me, top floor." Ahsoka pressed a button and the elevator began to rise.

Ahsoka said, "You know, I was here about 30 minutes ago. I waited with the Council for you to come, but they got impatient and sent me down to find you." She tapped her wrist as if there was a watch there and said, "Time, Skywalker!"

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Then he thought about what Padme had said. _I couldn't have been THIS annoying as a kid! _He thought.

The elevator stopped and made a _DING! _noise. The doors opened to a long quiet hallway. The two Jedi strode down the hallway. Light poured through all the windows, and it was so quiet, Anakin could hear his boots on the floor.

Finally, they came upon a door. As they neared it, the door automatically shot up into the air, and revealed the Jedi Council. They all were crossing their arms and had stern expressions on their faces. Anakin tried to smile.

"Hi! Sorry I'm late, I was busy at the—"

Mace Windu's booming voice interrupted, "There is no need for excuses, Skywalker. Lateness is not a good quality in a Jedi. Hopefully it won't happen again." The Council members all nodded in agreement.

Anakin blushed. He didn't enjoy it when the Council commented him, especially when Ahsoka was around. Ahsoka looked up at her Master, seeing how embarrassed he was.

She tried to change the subject and said, "Anyway, what's the meeting for, guys? We don't want to steer off track. It's important. Right?" The Council stopped nodding their heads and became serious again. Yoda smiled with tired eyes.

"Mmm….right she is. Very important. Found him again, we have."

Ahsoka was confused and looked up at Anakin. "Who's "him"?" She asked. Anakin's blue eyes twinkled.

"Grievous." He said, his eyes wide in realization. "Where is he?"

Mace Windu spoke up again. "He has been discovered to be hiding on the Fourth Moon of Yavin."

Ahsoka nodded quickly and said, "Yavin IV….I've read about it in my studies at the Jedi Archives. Apparently, the Fourth Moon of Yavin is not a very known location. It has the remains of stone temples that have been destroyed, and a thick forest. No wonder Grievous would choose it."

Anakin agreed.

"But it's small, right? Small moon, small army, and an easy victory for the Galactic Republic."

Yoda chuckled. "Very good, very good, young Skywalker. Ahsoka, as well. Impressed I am of you both." Ahsoka batted her eyelashes.

"Aw it's nothing." She said.

Anakin jabbed Ahsoka with his elbow. "Ow!" She muttered.

"Jedi are HUMBLE." Anakin said between his teeth. Ahsoka rubbed her arm as Yoda continued to speak.

"Send a Jedi, Chancellor Palpatine has asked us to. Spread far across the galaxy, over 9,000 Jedi we have. 200 only remain on Coruscant. Too busy they are." Yoda turned to Mace Windu for him to continue.

Mace Windu tightened his thin lips as he said, "Yoda and…the Council have decided on you to be sent to the Fourth Moon of Yavin. Your mission is to find out what Grievous is up to, contact the Council once you have found out, then capture him…if possible."

Ahsoka was excited. She had never had been on such a crucial mission before. _Maybe I AM lucky to be Anakin's Padawan. _She thought. _He's got the best missions! _

Anakin bowed. "We'll leave right away." But right when they were about to leave, Yoda said, "One more moment please." Anakin and Ahsoka curiously came back to the center of the circular room. Mace Windu motioned to the door.

"It's a very difficult and critical mission. And you are only a Jedi Knight and Padawan. We thought you might be in need of a Master of the force." The door opened, and a human Jedi Master stood in the doorway.

He had strong features, wore a light tunic, and was stroking his bearded chin.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked at the sight of his old Master.

Ob-Wan Kenobi gave a small grin and said in his polite accent, "Hello, Anakin. Ahsoka." He gave Ahsoka a small wave.

Ahsoka replied, "Hey, Master Kenobi! Where have you been?"

Obi-Wan said with a smirk, "Fighting a war. How about you?"

"Same."

Anakin then said, "Wait."

Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and the Council stared at him. "Yes, Anakin." Mace Windu asked, not really all that interested.

Anakin continued. "Thank you, Mace Windu, but I think me and Ahsoka will do just fine by ourselves."

Mace Windu's eyes widened. "Are you disagreeing with the Council?"

Anakin shook his head. "No, but I think having Master Kenobi along with us would be too much."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. He knew why Anakin didn't want him to come, even though he wouldn't admit it. _Always wanting to keep all the glory to himself, as usual. He still hasn't learned. _

And even though Obi-Wan felt a small bit dejected that his old Padawan didn't want him to come along, he tried his best not to show it.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "We need as many Jedi as we can get to destroy Grievous. The plan is that I will go and find Grievous, and if I fail at destroying him, you and Ahsoka will be above the planet in case Grievous tries to sneak away again, which he usually does."

Anakin was disappointed. _The Council doesn't even trust me to fight Grievous. Instead, they choose Obi-Wan…. _

Anakin was burning with hate inside, but he couldn't say no to the Council again. Anakin could even see that Ahsoka was a tiny bit sad as well.

"Okay." Anakin said. "Ahsoka and I will be ready." Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan bowed, and Anakin exited with Ahsoka by his side.

As he left the chamber, Anakin gave a glare to Obi-Wan. He WAS going to fight Grievous, whether the Council—or Obi-Wan—liked it or not.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Girl Talk

Anakin decided to walk with Ahsoka to Padme's apartment, since Ahsoka didn't have a starfighter of her own and Anakin's was only fit for one. Also, he wanted to take the longest way possible. As the two walked silently through the loud and crowded streets of the city, Ahsoka was the first to start talking.

"Wow! I can't wait to go on this mission! Going to fight Grievous? That's BIG!"

Anakin's hands curled into fists as he said in a harsh tone, "Well, technically, Snips, were not FIGHTING Grievous. That's Obi-Wan's job. We will be over the planet in case—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! I heard!" Ahsoka interrupted, rolling her eyes. She ran in front of Anakin and smiled.

"Yeah, so were not actually "fighting" him, but we're THERE! We get to be the Jedi who catch Grievous if he escapes! How cool is that?"

Anakin was amazed. Maybe Ahsoka had a good point.

She continued, "Sometimes, Sky Guy, you have to look at the light side of things, not the dark side." Ahsoka started laughing hysterically, holding her stomach to try to keep her from falling down.

Anakin gave her an "are-you-crazy?" look and asked, "What?"

Ahsoka gasped for air as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Don't you get it? You know, light side, dark side? Huh?"

But Anakin didn't even grin as he said, "Yeah…..sure." He walked past Ahsoka and continued on his way.

"Hey, wait up!" Ahsoka called from behind, running to catch up with him. When she finally got back to Anakin's side, she asked in interest, "So where are we going anyway?"

Anakin wanted to tell her to stop asking questions, but he knew she wouldn't give up.

"Were gonna go meet a friend of mine. You remember Senator Amidala?"

Ahsoka thought for a second, then nodded.

"Yeah, I remember." She said, scratching her chin. "She was the one who….saved our butts before we got executed by Jabba, right?"

Anakin grinned, remembering how surprised he was when Jabba turned on his holoprojector and Padme appeared on screen. 'Your Uncle Ziro kidnapped your son Jabba," she had said.

"Well, if you look at it that way, then yes. She's also the Senator of Naboo. I've known her since I was 9 and….I thought you might want to meet her before we leave to Yavin IV."

Ahsoka brought her shoulders to her ears. "I guess so." She said as Anakin stopped at the door of a tall skyscraper.

"In here." He said, as the door slid open and they trotted inside.

Senators from all over the galaxy crowded the lobby of the apartment. "When a Senator from another planet comes to Coruscant, they get a suite in this apartment." Anakin explained as they walked past a howling Wookiee.

Ahsoka smiled. "I think we just passed the Senator of Kashyyyk." She said.

Anakin snorted. "No duh."

They lifted the hoods of their cloaks on their heads as they entered an elevator. Anakin pressed the button to Padme's floor and the door slid shut.

The elevator had a big glass window so you could look down at Coruscant as it rose. Ahsoka had her nose pressed on the window.

"It looks like a big silver diamond!" She chimed, not even noticing the other side of the elevator open. Anakin yanked Ahsoka out of the elevator as he found C-3P0 who was there to greet him. He jumped as he saw Anakin and Ahsoka.

"Why, hello again, Master Anakin. Mistress Padme is glad to have you over once more."

Ahsoka scratched her head. _So he was here all that time. I wonder why…. _

C-3P0 noticed Ahsoka behind Anakin and exclaimed, "Oh. I didn't see you."

Not really paying attention, Ahsoka mumbled, "Hi." C-3P0 stood as straight as he could.

"Let me properly introduce myself. I am C-3P0, Human-Cyborg Relations. I am fluent in over 6 million forms of communication and am here to service you. It is a pleasure to meet you Mistress…..?"

Ahsoka stopped thinking about what Anakin was doing at the Senator's apartment and turned to face the golden protocol droid.

"Ahsoka. Ahsoka Tano. I'm Anakin's Padawan Learner."

She stuck out her hand, motioning for the droid to shake it. C-3P0 clenched Ahsoka's hand with his metal hand, pinching Ahsoka's palm.

"Yikes!" She yelped, pulling her hand back. A small cut gave out a trickle of blood.

C-3P0 gasped. "Oh my!" He shouted. "I'll go get a Medical Droid!" As Ahsoka inspected her hand, she said, "No it's okay. I'll live."

Suddenly, from one of the rooms in the apartment, Padme came out brushing her hair. She smiled at Anakin, then her eyes moved to Ahsoka.

"Hello, Anakin! Did you bring someone?" She asked as she walked toward him. Anakin nodded, gesturing to Ahsoka.

"Padme, this is my Padawan, Ahsoka. Ahsoka, Senator Amidala."

Ahsoka came out from behind Anakin and said, "Hi. I'm his Padawan. Anakin said you're a friend of his. Nice to meet you!" Padme grinned at Ahsoka, who was almost the same size as her.

She led the two to the white room with the balcony Anakin had been earlier. Padme and Ahsoka sat down on the couch. Anakin decided to stand up, putting his hands on his waist as Padme and Ahsoka started talking.

"You're the Senator of Naboo, right? Ahsoka asked. Padme nodded and replied, "Yeah. Have you been there?" Ahsoka nodded "no" sadly. "I haven't, but I've seen pictures of it in a book at the Archives. It's beautiful! I wish I lived there."

"Did you know that I used to be the Queen of Naboo?" Padme bragged.

"No way!" Ahsoka said, her big blue eyes sparkling.

Soon, Padme and Ahsoka were deep in conversation. Anakin watched, shaking his head.

_Typical girl talk._

Most of the time, Anakin didn't pay attention and went to the balcony, letting the setting sun pour on his face. But then it started rain, and he had to go back inside. The rest of the time he just zoned out, thinking about the trip to Yavin IV. Anakin decided to leave at night, once again going in their old Republic Attack Cruiser with his clone squad, along with Captain Rex.

And Obi-Wan.

But he caught bits of Padme and Ahsoka's conversation at times. Words like "the corrupt Senate", "endless war", "hard job", and "homemade cloaks" came up from time to time. When the sun had set, the skies were dark, and the rain had died down, Padme and Ahsoka were having a conversation about books.

"Yeah, almost every day I go to the Jedi Archives. I look at most of the books about planets and the galaxy and stuff. It's really interesting."

Padme smiled and asked, "Do you actually have the time to read?" Ahsoka snorted. "Not anymore! With Anakin around, I never have time to do anything!"

Padme added, giving a secret wink to Anakin, "I bet." They giggled. Anakin tapped hard on Ahsoka's shoulder.

"Ow!" She said with a jump.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Anakin said in a harsh tone. "We gotta go now if were getting to Yavin IV anytime soon, Snips."

Ahsoka waved to Padme as she and Anakin got into the elevator. As the elevator doors opened to the lobby, Ahsoka looked up at Anakin and said, "I like her." He turned to look out at Coruscant. The stars shimmered, and the lights of the city glistened of the spotless glass elevator. Anakin's eyes settled. He wondered when he would finally see Padme once again.

"Me, too, Ahsoka. Me, too."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Landing Ramps and Battle Droids

Anakin and Ahsoka found their way back to the rendezvous where they landed their Cruiser, even though the night had made it darker. Anakin had received R2-D2 back from Padme, so the small droid was beeping and rolling behind him, his small light leading the way.

Captain Rex, their clone trooper squad, Mace Windu, and Yoda were already there. When Rex saw Anakin and Ahsoka, he lifted his hand to his helmet in a salute. The rest of the clones did the same. Anakin smiled.

"Thanks for coming , Rex."

Captain Rex slowly lowered his hand. "Anytime, General Skywalker. The head clanker will fall to his knees when were around." Rex turned around to the other clones and added, "And that's an order."

The clones put their hands behind their backs and chorused, "Sir, yes, sir!"

Mace Windu stepped forward with Yoda behind him, resting on his gimer stick.

"I admire your squad's confidence, Skywalker, but this is no picnic. Be careful. Grievous may as well be leading the Republic straight into a trap."

Ahsoka didn't even flinch. She held her head high and responded proudly, "Nothing a Jedi can't handle! Right, Anakin?" Anakin tried to fake a grin. He still felt it was unfair that Obi-Wan got to actually "do" the mission. But he replied, "Sure, Snips."

Suddenly, he realized that Obi-Wan was nowhere in sight, so he asked curiously, "Where's Obi-Wan?" Mace Windu tilted his head to the Cruiser, and the landing ramp opened. Obi-Wan was there with a tool box slumped under his arm, repairing the landing ramp.

As he saw Anakin, he smiled and gave a small wave. "Anakin! There you are. I was hoping you'd come sooner." Obi-Wan said. He banged the landing ramp with his foot. "The landing ramp needs someone who's good with tools to fix it. It's been malfunctioning for hours!"

Obi-Wan gave a small wink. Anakin's face turned red.

When Anakin was a little boy on Tatooine, he had been a slave to Watto, a greedy Toydarian who was the proud owner of a junk shop. Anakin had worked in the shop day after day, fixing Watto's merchandise if it didn't work right (which usually, it didn't). Anakin did this with ease. He was sure Obi-Wan was referring to his boyhood, which Anakin didn't want to be reminded of.

Anakin relaxed his muscles. _Jedi must keep their cool. _He snatched the toolbox out of Obi-Wan's grasp.

"Simple." Anakin said knowingly, kneeling down to inspect the landing ramp. He opened the metal toolbox and pulled out a hydrospanner. "Now," He continued. "All you have to do is twist this….." Anakin took the hydrospanner and adjusted a small bolt on one side of the ramp, then the other side. He handed the hydrospanner back to Obi-Wan and dusted his black tunic.

Obi-Wan activated the landing ramp. It swiflly moved down, then up, then back up again. Obi-Wan gave a firm nod of approval.

"Good job." He said, as he gave a thumbs up to Ahsoka, who was watching them attentively. "Coming, Master Kenobi!" She called, skipping up the landing ramp. Captain Rex and the squad marched up the landing ramp simultaneously. The clone pilot took his position and clicked on the controls.

As the ship flickered to life, the pilot announced to the three Jedi who were in their seats behind them, "Here we go! We have parsecs to travel until we get to the Fourth Moon of Yavin, so sit tight." Mace Windu and Yoda watched from below as the Republic Attack Cruiser rose and disappeared into the starry night sky.

Yoda muttered to himself, "May the force be with them."

**. . .**

On the Fourth Moon of Yavin, in a nameless jungle, a huge Separatist base was found deep in the heavy vegetation. Battle Droids, along with the more armored Super Battle Droids, guarded the entrance of the base with their blasters. The Commander Droid, who was easily recognized by the yellow markings on his plating, gave a yawn.

A Battle Droid behind him remarked in a robotic tone, "This is stupid. We've been standing out here for hours. Nobody can find us on this boring unknown planet anyway."

Another Battle Droid nodded it's head and agreed, "Roger, roger." But the Commander Droid pointed a finger at the Battle Droid's chest plate.

"Shut up." It said sternly. "We must remain standing. The General said so."

The Battle Droid whined, "So what?"

Suddenly, a big white mechanical hand clawed into the Battle Droid's neck and lifted it up in the air.

"Because if you don't, the General will turn you into SCRAP METAL!" A scratchy voice answered.

The Battle Droid grappled with the hand, trying to loosen it's tight grip. It pleaded. "Please, General Grievous, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Let me go!"

The white hand brutally smashed the droid to the floor, Battle Droid parts flying everywhere. Sparks from the unfortunate droid blew in the air. General Grievous came out from inside the base, coughing. At the sight of the menacing General, the Battle Droids stood straight and silent. Grievous stomped past the terrified droids until he found the Commander.

"What is the status report?" General Grievous asked, hunching his back as he let out another loud cough.

The Commander Droid replied, "Nothing out of the ordinary, sir. Jedi activity, negative."

General Grievous laughed, his white claw-like hands folded behind his black cape.

"Good." He said. "Good!"

Grievous' piercing green eyes cut a hole through the Commander Droid like a lightsaber as he said, "Make sure your troops are well disciplined. I don't want another…free thinker."

He looked behind him at the rest of the Battle Droids. They shivered.

Grievous reached in his cape and pulled out his handheld holoprojector. It started flashing and vibrating as a blue image of an old man with a tight mouth and a white beard looked over Grievous with baggy eyes. General Grievous bowed to his master. "Everything is going well, Count Dooku. The Republic have not been spotted here."

Dooku gave a smug grin. "Excellent, General, but be alert and make sure your droids who protect the base are prepared. I suspect an attack by the Republic."

Grievous's eyes widened as he asked, "But, Count, the Republic couldn't have discovered we are here on Yavin IV?"

The Count replied coolly, "Apparently, you haven't noticed, General." He added, "We will discuss your punishment later."

The holoprojector buzzed and fizzled off. Grievous had his eyes fixed on the holoprojector. His face muscles tensed.

"Arrgh!" He grunted angrily, crushing the holoprojector in his hands. The Battle Droids jumped as the General turned to them, breathing heavily.

"You better be ready for an attack and have ships guarding the planet from space. Or else…." Grievous stomped his foot on the floor, making the ground shake. The Battle Droids flinched, imagining their head under Grievous's foot.

"Yes, General!" They chorused.

Grievous threw the remains of the holoprojector into the grass. "And get me a new one of those. NOW!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Dreams**

_Anakin woke up. It was nighttime. From his window in his dorm at the temple, he could see the colorful flashing lights of the city, and could hear the laughs of night clubbers. He pushed himself out of bed, putting on a black shirt as he crept through the empty, dark halls of the Jedi Temple. The more he walked, the more he could feel a strange disturbance. Suddenly, a voice echoed from another room._

_ "Anakin!" It shouted. The voice was shaky, but sounded just like…_

_"Padme!" Anakin realized. He started walking faster. He heard the voice again._

_"Anakin!"_

"_Padme!" Anakin shouted, his pace quickening. _

"_Anakin!"_

_Soon he was running as fast as a womprat, nearly tripping over his own feet. He suddenly came upon the Jedi Archives. There was Padme. She was standing against the wall trembling. _

_"Padme!" Anakin said, starting to run toward her. "I was so worried about—" _

_"NO!" Padme interrupted. She pressed more against the wall. "Run! Run away!" She coaxed. Anakin was confused._

_ "What? What's the matter?" He continued walking closer to her. Padme cried, her eyes wide in fear. "No! No! NO!" _

_Suddenly, a glowing red blade appeared next to Padme, and Count Dooku came out. He put his lightsaber to Padme's neck. _

_"Skywalker." His voice was choked with evil. "We meet again." _

_Anakin's heart skipped a beat as he shouted angrily, "You keep away from her!" Count Dooku's wicked smile sent a chill down his spine. _

_"You have strong feelings for this one, don't you?" Without a word, Anakin activated his blue lightsaber. It hummed to life, but Anakin was frozen. He felt paralyzed. How did Dooku know about him and Padme? The Count raised an eyebrow. _

_"You do." He concluded. _

_Dooku added, "That is forbidden for a Jedi to be married, you know." Then he thrust a hand out to Padme. She started to grasp her neck, choking and coughing, loosing her breath. _

_"A—a-na—kin—" She stuttered. Suddenly, her body became limp, and Anakin felt the life drain out of her as Count Dooku released her. She fell to the floor._

_ Anakin gasped. "Padme!" He ran and kneeled beside her to check her pulse, turning his back to the menacing Dooku. _

_Nothing. Not a sound._

_ Anakin started breathing faster. His fingers curled around his lightsaber. The hate boiled through him. His back still turned to Dooku, Count Dooku laughed and said, "Now you will die with her." _

_Anakin leaped, his lightsaber blazing again, connecting with Dooku's. Anakin continued to fight, blow after blow, but Dooku deflected them with ease. _

_As Anakin and the Count pressed their lightsabers against each other, they stared into each other's eyes. Dooku then used the force to push Anakin against the wall. Anakin fell to his knees, tired, sweat dripping down his face. Dooku turned around, his face looking away from Anakin. "Face it, Skywalker." He said. _

_"You can't kill someone who is so similar to yourself." _

_Anakin said furiously, "I am NOTHING like you! You are a monster!" _

_The Count turned back around, but instead of Dooku, the face of a young man with brown hair and a scar over his eye stared back. Anakin stared in horror._

_ It was HIM. _

_"You have already joined the dark side." Anakin's twin told him. "You are a disgrace to the Jedi Order."_

"_Just like Count Dooku."_

"NOOOO!" Anakin shouted.

He took a look around.

He wasn't in the Jedi Archives. He was still in the Republic Attack Cruiser, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka sleeping next to him. Ahsoka was snoring.

It had all been a dream.

Anakin's loud scream woke Obi-Wan, who jumped at the noise. He rubbed his eyes. "Anakin?" He asked sleepily. "What are you doing up this late?" Anakin had sweat all down his shirt. He breathed in the cool air in the Cruiser. Then he realized Obi-Wan was still looking at him as if he was covered in bantha poop.

He said with a yawn, "I'm….sorry, Master. I had a bad dream…"

Obi-Wan sat up.

"I'm all ears."

Anakin shook his head. He didn't want to tell Obi-Wan what he saw. When he would talk about Padme….it'd be revealing too much. So he just said, "Dooku. He was in the Jedi Archives in the Temple. We were dueling. Then he just…vanished."

Obi-Wan looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Very interesting. But I don't think your telling me everything. I can feel it, Anakin."

Anakin had no other option. "Well," He started. "Count Dooku looked the other way. I couldn't see what he looked like until he turned back around. It looked just like….."

Suddenly, Ahsoka woke up. She stretched out her arms and looked at Anakin and Obi-Wan.

"Oh, hey, boys." She said with a smile. Anakin looked at her with curiosity.

"Why are YOU up?" He asked.

Ahsoka replied, "I had a dream. You were in it, Sky Guy."

For a moment, Anakin was astonished. _Her, too? _

Without even hesitating, Ahsoka said, "I had a dream that we were already on the Fourth Moon of Yavin. Captain Rex and all the other clones were following me and you deeper and deeper into the jungle. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, there was General Grievous. He looked at us and said, 'Jedi scum!' Then he took out his two lightsabers and started swinging them like a crazy person! Rex and the clones were taking cover behind some trees and bushes, laser blasts flying everywhere. Then you and I activated our lightsabers, locking blades with Grievous. With AWESOME power, Grievous thrust my green lightsaber out of my hand. I was VULNERABLE! Then you came and put out your lightsaber. 'Grab on!' You said. So we both held your lightsaber together, CHARGING into Grievous, the lightsaber SLICING through his chest! He fell to the floor. Then you said, 'Good teamwork, Snips. You are now a Jedi Knight!"

When Ahsoka finished, she was gazing into space excitedly, as if the dream was happening right before her eyes.

Anakin replied grumpily, "Impossible! That's the most stupidest dream I've ever heard!"

Ahsoka faltered. Her lips sagged as she looked down at the floor, feeling hurt.

Anakin didn't even notice. He was still thinking about his dream. After a long silence, Ahsoka finally asked, "What were you and Master Kenobi talking about?"

Anakin expected Obi-Wan to speak up and say, "Anakin was telling me about his dream. Go on, Anakin!", but he didn't even make a sound.

He turned around, curious as to why Obi-Wan went silent, then laughed.

Obi-Wan was asleep, his mouth open and drooling.

Anakin looked back to Ahsoka and replied, "Nothing. Now, GOOD NIGHT." He leaned his head back on his chair.

Ahsoka stayed up a little longer, watching the stars twinkle in deep space.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Battle Over the Moon

When Anakin had woken up again, everyone was up on the deck, watching the Cruiser jump into hyperspace. The clone pilot typed in some coordinates and said, "The Fourth Moon of Yavin is parsecs away. Shouldn't take long."

As hyperspace, a flurry of blue lights, put on a show outside the window, Obi-Wan made his way to the main hanger. His blue Delta-7 starfighter shined on the smooth silver floor, looking as dignified as it's Jedi pilot. As Obi-Wan neared it, his astromech droid, nicknamed R4, beeped and whistled to greet him.

"Nice to see you, too, Arfour!" Obi-Wan said cheerfully. R4 rotated his domed head joyfully, giving an excited whistle. Obi-Wan snorted.

"I'm excited, too! We'll be at Yavin IV in a little while. Just a little tweaking to the ship wouldn't hurt." He opened the hatch and got inside with a hydrospanner. As he did, Anakin walked into the hanger, noticing Obi-Wan in the starfighter's cockpit. Anakin was about to tiptoe away (maybe he'd be lucky and not get asked about his dream), when Obi-Wan said without even turning around, "Good morning, Anakin. You've slept in quite a lot. I've meaning to ask you about-"

Anakin quickly interrupted, "Yes, I slept well. I wish you a safe journey to Yavin IV. Um, good luck."

Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder. "Thank you. Good luck to you as well." Anakin nodded and quickly went to check on his starfighter as well.

Obi-Wan sighed, thinking that he'd confront Anakin about his strange behavior later, and continued to work.

Just as Obi-Wan had finished, the blue lights that surrounded the ship vanished, and the black skies of space appeared once again. Peaking out below them was the planet Yavin, with it's four small moons orbiting around it. Obi-Wan and Anakin watched from the main hangar's windows.

It reminded Anakin of Tatooine, and it's two twin suns. But he quickly pushed the thought out of his head.

_ No need to think about that._

Obi-Wan noticed Yavin, too. "Ah, there we go." He put his hydrospanner in his starfighter's glove compartment and daintily stepped into the ship's cockpit. R4 beeped.

"Set the coordinates for the Fourth Moon, Arfour. And get ready for take off." R4 beeped in response. Suddenly, Anakin looked out the windows of the main hanger, feeling a disturbance somewhere in the distance. Behind one of the moons, he noticed something peaking out.

It was a dark metallic gray color, looking like a small ship with two pointy wings. _What the….? _Then Anakin instinctively gripped his hand on his lightsaber.

"Vulture droids." He mumbled.

Anakin rushed to the Attack Cruiser's deck, where Ahsoka and Captain Rex were busily looking at a big translucent monitor. As Anakin rushed to Ahsoka's side, she said, "I see them, too, Sky Guy!" She pointed at what appeared to be the Yavin IV, and there was an unidentified red dot behind it.

"It's a vulture droid. I saw it at the main hanger." Anakin said to Captain Rex.

Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. "That's puny defense."

Suddenly, another red dot appeared behind the moon. Then another, and another, and soon, a swarm of vulture droids catapulted toward the Cruiser. Anakin looked at Ahsoka.

"NEVER say that!" He said sternly.

The Republic Attack Cruiser's laser guns shot rapidly at the vulture droids, some of them landed on the windows, other's landed on the laser guns, crushing them. The Cruiser was nearly vulnerable to any attack. Anakin told the pilot, "Open the main hanger for Obi-Wan! He'll fight them off!" The pilot replied with a nod, "Yes, General Skywalker."

In the main hanger, Obi-Wan was sitting in his starfighter's cockpit, adjusting his comlink, when the hanger door's opened. Obi-Wan saw a vulture droid that hanging upside down from the top of the ship. It started to crawl onto the ceiling of the main hanger.

Obi-Wan activated his Delta-7.

"No, no, no, little one! No climbing on the ceiling!"

His starfighter rose to life. Obi-Wan's lasers scored a direct hit on the droid, making it fall to the ground in pieces. Obi-Wan shook his head as he shooted out of the hanger doors.

_So uncivilized._

Obi-Wan activated his headset comlink and said, "I'm out. I'll be landing on Yavin IV shortly after I get rid of these pesky droids."

The Cruiser's clone pilot nodded his head from the Cruiser's deck.

"Yes, sir!"

More and more vulture droids broke out from Yavin IV's atmosphere. The pilot's fingers flew over the controls as the main hanger doors closed.

Anakin watched as Obi-Wan's ship raced past the deck windows, in hot pursuit of two speeding vulture droids. With two laser blasts from his starfighter, Obi-Wan watched, pleased as the two vulture droids disintegrated into flames. Obi-Wan noticed that the last few vulture droids were released from the Fourth Moon of Yavin.

"Now, let's finish them off, Arfour!" He said. R4 whistled proudly as Obi-Wan's ship lunged into a group of vulture droids, disappearing in a swarm of laser blasts. Each vulture droid soon became a heap of steamy metal floating through space. Soon, all the vulture droids were destroyed, and everyone aboard the Attack Cruiser let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.

Obi-Wan's Delta-7 began to make it's way to Yavin IV. Obi-Wan picked up the Cruiser's pilot on his comlink.

"The vulture droids shouldn't be bothering you anymore." He stated.

The clone pilot removed his helmet and wiped beads of sweat from his forehead.

"Good riddance." He mumbled. "And excellent work, General Kenobi."

Obi-Wan retorted, "Thank you. May I speak to General Skywalker please?" The pilot signaled Anakin to come over, who was watching Obi-Wan's ship through the windows. The pilot put Obi-Wan on speaker as Anakin leaned in to listen.

"Anakin, are you there?" Anakin heard Obi-Wan's voice ask. He answered, "Right here, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan began. "Listen, Anakin, we all are aware that your lasers have been crushed during the battle. That means you can be easily beaten if there is another attack, which is a big chance since the Separatists probably know we're here by now."

Anakin nodded in agreement as Obi-Wan continued.

"Also, even worse, if General Grievous tries to escape it'll be harder for you to be able to shoot his ship down. So, Anakin, I believe there is two extra starfighters in the main hanger. They are charged and ready for battle. I want you to stay in space and protect the Cruiser. Ahsoka may accompany you….but try to keep her out of trouble." Ahsoka, who was up against the monitor, could hear their whole conversation. At the moment she heard Obi-Wan say she could fly, she nearly knocked over Anakin as she put her mouth up to the comlink microphone.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Don't worry, I can handle myself. Thank you, Master!" She said excitedly. Anakin could almost see Obi-Wan smile and shake his head.

"Just keep close to your Master, youngling." Obi-Wan said. Anakin gave her a cocky grin, which Ahsoka returned with a snort.

"Whatever. Anakin needs to be looked out for anyway. Who knows what he can do all alone in space!"

Captain Rex and the pilot laughed as Anakin glared at his smug-faced Padawan.

Obi-Wan replied, "Good luck, Anakin. You, too, Ahsoka. I best be on my way. May the force be with you."

"May the force be with you, Obi-Wan." Anakin said.

Obi-Wan switched off his comlink and asked R4, "You've still got those coordinates?" R4 beeped in response. Obi-Wan replied, "Good. Punch it."

R4 beeped some more and the ship glided towards the Fourth Moon of Yavin. When Obi-Wan's ship had disappeared into Yavin IV, Anakin nudged Ahsoka.

"Let's go, Snips." He said as he started walking to the main hanger. Ahsoka skipped cheerfully as she followed him.

"Right behind you, Master."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Through the Jungle

Obi-Wan's Delta-7 starfighter landed in a thick leafy jungle on the Fourth Moon of Yavin.

As he popped open the hatch and stepped out onto the dewy grass, R4 spun his head to look at Obi-Wan and gave a curious beep.

Obi-Wan smiled at the droid as he removed his headset and put on his brown hood attached to his cloak. "Were in a jungle on Yavin IV." He answered to R4's question. Then he said, "You stay here, Arfour. Guard the ship. Watch out for any lifeforms who'd want to get their grubby hands on it." R4 beeped firmly as Obi-Wan began trudging through the jungle.

Vines got him in tangled messes, and sometimes he'd stumble on logs and tree stumps.

_I wish I could take out my lightsaber. _He thought as he made his way through another bunch of hanging vines. _But if the Separatists are anywhere near, I out to keep quiet. _

Deeper and deeper into the jungle Obi-Wan went, his eyes darting from left to right incase he saw a Battle Droid or a Destroyer Droid on guard duty. But for hours, all he saw was heavy vegetation and maybe a creature or two that would pass by.

Finally, Obi-Wan sat down against a tree, deciding to take a quick break. He took out a water capsule from his utility belt and took a big gulp. It was refreshing as he gazed up into the bright blue skies of Yavin IV. The blue skies and blossoming plant life reminded Obi-Wan of when he and his former Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had went on a mission to Naboo. Obi-Wan met a number of people on that mission…Jar Jar, Padme, and Anakin. But Obi-Wan had lost his Master on Naboo. It was tragic, even today.

Obi-Wan breathed in the fresh air of the jungle. _Nothing like Coruscant. _

Suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, he heard the crack of a twig behind him. He turned around. Two Battle Droids armed with blasters were trotting through the jungle. They didn't notice Obi-Wan who was peaking from behind a tree nearby. One of the droids said, "Well, looks like there's nothing around here." The other droid nodded. "Roger, roger."

When Obi-Wan started to reach for his lightsaber, his water capsule fell out of his open hand, rolling on the grass. The first droid noticed it. "Hey, what's that?" It leaned down to pick it up and inspected it. Finally, it said, "It's a water capsule. What's it doing out-"

But it didn't have time to finish it's sentence as Obi-Wan's lightsaber cut the droid in half. The second droid shot his blaster, but Obi-Wan swiftly deflected it back to the Battle Droid, making it fall to the ground with a thump. Obi-Wan looked behind the fallen droid. There was a trail of muddy droid footprints zig-zagging through the jungle.

Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber, but kept it in his hand as he silently followed the tracks, careful if there were any more droids along the path. The skies became darker as Obi-Wan continued to creep his way down the tracks. They ended at a big building (not as big as the Coruscant skyscrapers, but pretty big for Yavin IV). It was colored in light and dark greens, blending in with the scenery of the dense jungle. It looked relatively new.

"Separatists."

Obi-Wan could sense it. It was a Separatist base. Suddenly, he noticed two Battle Droids and one bulky Super Battle Droid march out from the other side of the building. At the moment they saw Obi-Wan activate his glowing blue lightsaber, one of the Battle Droids said, "Blast that Jedi!" The Battle Droids raised their blasters while the Super Battle Droid aimed it's hand blaster. Obi-Wan's lightsaber blocked each blast easily. Two of them bounced back and hit the two Battle Droids.

The Super Battle Droid shot one more blast then ran to the other side of the base. Obi-Wan ran after him. As he followed him to the other side of the building, he ran into a whole group of Separatist droids! Laser blasts were making the air smoky as Obi-Wan deflected them and lunged at the droids with his lightsaber. All the battle droids had been defeated except for the Commander, who was flat against the building, shaking.

Obi-Wan raised his lightsaber.

"Waaaaahhh!" The Commander screamed as Obi-Wan stuck his lightsaber through his chest. He pulled it out as the Commander dropped to the ground. Obi-Wan was sure that Grievous knew about the Jedi intruder by now. Without a moment to spare, he ducked behind a bush and contacted the Cruiser.

**. . .**

The Republic Attack Cruiser was floating helplessly over Yavin and it's four moons. Astromech droids, including R2-D2, were busy at work on the top of the ship, trying to repair the broken lasers. But all the droids could merely do was use their retractable arms to stack the broken pieces into a tower, and watch it topple down.

Anakin and Ahsoka were adjusting their comlink headsets in the two extra starfighters in the main hanger. Ahsoka was in the open cockpit of a red starfighter, trying to get her headset to fit her head, but it kept on falling to her nose.

"Uh!" She muttered as she tore the headset off her lekku head tails. Ahsoka pouted like a 4-year-old. "It just won't fit!" She whined.

Anakin, who was in the other spare fighter, a yellow starfighter similar to the one he possessed on Coruscant but not nearly as well-kept, didn't even take an interest in Ahsoka's whining. Anakin knew that the ship was a wreck, but he didn't mind. He had already been able to get his headset to fit and looked at Ahsoka arrogantly. She rolled her eyes and said, "Probably because of my lekku."

Anakin agreed as he jumped out of his cockpit. "Here's a better idea." He said as he took the headset from the Togruta's hands.

He snapped the two ends of the headset together to form a circle. Then he placed it over Ahsoka's forehead. She crossed her arms, trying not to look impressed.

"I knew that."

Suddenly, Anakin's wrist comlink that went to the Cruiser's pilot began to beep. He pressed a button and said, "What's up?"

The Cruiser pilot replied, "General Skywalker, we are receiving a message from General Kenobi on Yavin IV. Best you see it to before you go in your ships. It's important." Anakin turned to Ahsoka.

"To the deck, Snips. It's important." She followed him out of the main hanger.

**. . .**

Back at the deck of the Cruiser, the pilot was receiving a fuzzy hologram of Obi-Wan on Yavin IV. Anakin and Ahsoka rushed in as Obi-Wan's figure, looking like it was crouching behind a bush, started to speak.

"Alright, this is a surprise for everyone, pilot." His voice echoed throughout the ship. Everyone's eyes were locked on the hologram, which was close to flickering out in a second. Obi-Wan began, speaking as slowly as he could.

"Our mission was to find Grievous on Yavin IV. Well, I think I've found something else. I've found a whole Separatist military base."

Ahsoka's jaw dropped. Anakin and the rest of the crew tried to remain calm. Anakin was sure Obi-Wan could see Ahsoka's ridiculous face, but he wasn't in the mood for laughing.

"This has become far more dangerous than we expected." Obi-Wan continued. "Who knows what kind of weaponry they have inside the base? Maybe they could even be manufacturing more Battle Droids inside."

Anakin and Ahsoka shared a nervous glance with Captain Rex, who had his helmet off and was rubbing his bald head. Obi-Wan sighed and said, "We have no choice. We need more than one Jedi." He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Send Anakin."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Send Anakin

Anakin's eyes widened in surprise. He was actually going to fight General Grievous after all? He and Ahsoka pushed their way to the hologram.

Anakin asked, "But Master, what if the General tries to escape? If I'm not there then who'll catch him?"

Obi-Wan looked at Ahsoka.

"Leave it to her." He said.

Ahsoka couldn't breath. She gasped, "Master Kenobi, you really mean it?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Indeed I do. We will rendezvous if we realize Grievous made another dash to hyperspace. But for the time being, you'll be in charge."

Ahsoka bowed her head low to Obi-Wan.

"I won't let you down!"

When the hologram finally died down and vanished, Anakin and Ahsoka ran to their cockpits. Anakin opened the hatch of his starfighter and hopped inside. Ahsoka did the same as Anakin once again strapped on his headset. Anakin saw R2-D2 rolling his way into the ship's astromech socket, ready for action.

When the two finally closed their hatches and turned on their comlinks, Anakin told the clone pilot, "Were ready." The main hanger doors opened, making a squeaking sound.

"Way ahead of you, General. When you get on Yavin IV, General Kenobi will inform you of his location on your wrist comlink."

Anakin nodded as his starfighter somersaulted out of the main hanger, Ahsoka gliding close behind. Anakin picked up Ahsoka on the comlink.

"May the force be with you, Snips."

Ahsoka's lip formed a plucky grin as she replied, "You can count on it, Sky Guy!"

The two starfighters parted ways, Anakin's flying into the jungle of Yavin IV, Ahsoka's in attack position perched on top of the Attack Cruiser. Ahsoka kept her big blue eyes on Yavin IV.

_Come and get some, Grievous! _Ahsoka thought as she cracked her knuckles. _I'm ready….I won't let Master Kenobi down!_

**. . .**

Anakin broke through Yavin's atmosphere and got his first glimpse of the green jungle. It was so thick he couldn't see any sign of Obi-Wan's starfighter.

R2 gave a frustrated beep that made Anakin grin. "I know, Artoo, but not to worry. I'll get him on my holoprojecter." Anakin clicked it on and said to it, "Obi-Wan, are you in?"

Obi-Wan, who was still huddling behind the bush, watching the Separatist base for any more droids, heard static from his holoprojecter. He activated it and gave a sigh of relief when he saw Anakin on the screen. He had the appearance that he was piloting a starfghter, Obi-Wan reasoned.

He gave Anakin a teethy smile and said, "I'm glad your here, Anakin!" Anakin smiled, a small dimple forming by his lip.

"As am I, Master. Give me a second, I'm getting coordinates to your location. Stand by."

The holoprojecter, which was a part of the ship's cockpit, buzzed as R2-D2 guided the starfighter on an invisible trail, using the data from the projector. Obi-Wan, who's blue form was still on the holoprojector, added, "Make sure you land a few miles away from the base, don't want to attract even more attention."

"Alright, Obi-Wan."

"You'll walk." Obi-Wan added.

"Sure."

Just as Anakin's fingers reached to turn off the holoprojecter, Obi-Wan added, "No wait! Bring your droid. I have a plan."

**. . .**

After Anakin and Obi-Wan had a quick discussion on the new plan Obi-Wan had thought up, Anakin had to agree, "It _is _a good plan…we'll do it."

Just as Anakin spoke his last words, R2 landed the starfighter into the jungle, plunging into a pool of leaves. Anakin laughed as the leaves levitated into the air, covering the surprised astromech droid until he looked like a bush.

Obi-Wan gave a stern look at Anakin through the hologram, like the one you give to an immature child. Anakin coughed and stopped laughing. "Alright, Obi-Wan. Wait for us." Obi-Wan's blue image flickered of the screen.

Before Anakin could even lift a finger to pop off the hatch, he noticed two battle droids patrolling in the distance. When they spotted Anakin's starfighter, they began running toward the ship, their blasters ready. Anakin smiled.

_This is where the fun begins. _

When the two battle droids had approached the ship, they could see nobody inside…from at least their point of view. One of the droids looked at his partner.

"There's nobody there!" It said. The other droid crossed it's arms and replied, "I was sure I saw somebody—"

The hatch popped open and Anakin jumped out, his lightsaber glowing. When he landed, the two battle droids were quickly disposed of.

R2, who had been hiding behind the starfighter, swiveled out his third leg and rolled up next to Anakin.

"Good work, Artoo." He said to the little droid. "Looks like we're in the right place."

**. . .**

Knowing that the Separatist base was near, Anakin had walked around the forest silently. His boots made no sound as he and R2 made there way through the jungle. Then Anakin stopped dead in his tracks. R2 beeped curiously, and swayed from left to right. Anakin signaled R2 with a finger to his lips as his eyes focused on the bush next to him. Finally, a head popped out from behind. Then an arm, holding a blue lightsaber.

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin realized, glad to have found him. Obi-Wan stood up and put his lightsaber back to hang on his utility belt. "Oh, Anakin. It's you. I thought you might be another pesky droid."

"We ran into two on the way here."

"I thought you would."

R2 was whimpering behind Anakin. Obi-Wan tried to stifle a smile, but let a small smirk creep over his face. "I see someone wants some attention." He said. "But don't worry, Artoo. You'll be very much needed in this assignment."

Anakin patted R2's head to comfort him as Obi-Wan went over the plan. "Artoo, your going to go inside the base….alone. It will look too suspicious with a Jedi with you, I'm sure. Try to act as if you're one of their own astromech droids and blend in. If any battle droid gets in your way, tell them simply that you're on an errand for Grievous." Obi-Wan said.

Anakin added, "Battle droids will buy anything. They're not that smart."

Obi-Wan continued, "We'll give you some explosive charges. You'll set them up. Anakin and I will be waiting outside."

R2 beeped a question.

"Why? Well, if General Grievous is in there, we'll know what his instinct is when he finds out his base is going to explode."

Anakin grinned slyly. "Run. He's going to try to escape for sure. But he's gonna run into some trouble."

Anakin patted the lightsaber hanging from his waist, just to make sure it's there. It was. Then Obi-Wan threw R2 a comlink, which the droid caught with his retractable hand. "If you need any help, just give us a call."

Anakin leaned down on his knees. He asked the small droid, "Are you ready for this, Artoo?" R2 beeped, vibrated, swayed, and rotated his head the whole way around.

Obi-Wan grinned and asked, "What did he say?" Anakin replied with a white smile.

"He said there's no droid better fit for this mission."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Blending In

R2-D2 was rolling nervously through the grey metal halls of the Separatist base. Never had he seen so many battle droids! (Well, maybe during the Jedi Battle on Geonosis. That was the worst.) R2 was not used to keeping quiet while passing by a battle droid. Whenever he'd see a battle droid or any other droid that belonged to the Separatists, he'd beep like crazy. Or squirt oil in their face. Or set them on fire. Or shock them. Whichever felt best at the time.

But according to Obi-Wan's strict instructions he had recited while he gave R2 the charges: "Leave them alone. Act natural. Like a Separatist."

R2 didn't like the idea of acting like a Separatist. But once Anakin had agreed with Obi-Wan and tried to encourage R2, the astromech had decided not to disobey his Master. So here he was, trudging passed hundreds of battle droids, acting like he was doing something important. Everyone in the base had given him strange looks, especially the Commander and his troops who were guarding the base's entrance.

This is exactly what happened: R2 had been finally sent off by Anakin and Obi-Wan to the base. After 2 miles of rolling through the jungle, dirt stuck up his wheels, R2 jumped at the sight of a battle droid. "Woah!" It said, surprised. R2 tried to calm himself down as another droid came to check on what was going on.

"What's this?" It asked, kicking R2's third leg.

Oh, how he wanted to go back to Anakin!

R2 beeped persistently to the two droids. The battle droid who had just came told the other droid, "He says he's one of ours. He was just….looking for any…Jedi?"

R2 beeped again, agreeing to the battle droid's statement.

The other droid shrugged. "Alright, then. Should we show him back to the base?"

The battle droid said sternly, "Well, YEAH."

R2 had then quietly followed the two battle droids through the jungle until they came upon the big building that was the Separatist base. There was a Commander battle droid, along with a whole bunch of battle droid troopers behind him, watching as R2 skidded to a stop. The two battle droids who had found R2 gave a nod.

"We have found one of our astromech droids rolling around a few miles away from the base, Commander. He wants to go inside." The Commander tilted his long head to the right as he gave a good look at R2.

R2 squirmed.

The Commander finally turned to the troops and said, "Open the doors! And hurry up!"

The battle droids all tripped and fell into a bunch of leaves as they rushed to open the door. As R2 continued his way through the door after they were opened, the Commander droid shook his head and said to the scattered battle droids, "Well. That was great. Fifth time this morning!"

So there was R2 now, still inside the base, not making eye contact with any battle droids. Trying not to, for the most part. Suddenly, R2 was frightened to see a hunchbacked figure with a long black cape walk slowly out of a door to his right. The figure coughed terribly as it began to make it's way through the hallways, followed by five Super Battle Droid escorts. R2 searched through his memory, remembering Obi-Wan and Anakin's conversation with him.

"_And we all know what Grievous will do once he finds out" Obi-Wan had said. "Run. He's going to run." said Anakin._

It took more than that one conversation for R2-D2 to realize that this was Grievous, the Commander of the entire Separatist droid army. R2 listened closely to Grievous, who was giving strict orders to a Super Battle Droid.

"I want you to take me somewhere in the base where I can get a clear transmission to Dooku. Now!" The Super Battle Droid looked to the other Super Battle Droids uncomfortably, for he knew Grievous had his eyes fixed on him.

"Um, everyone. Let's show the General where he can send Dooku a clear transmission."

The other battle droids hurriedly lead the way in front of the General, while the Super Battle Droid had stayed by Grievous' side. R2, a droid who would risk anything for the sake of the Republic, followed behind Grievous curiously. Perhaps Grievous and Dooku would spill some top secret Separatist information during their meeting, something that could be used against them by the Republic. The droid tried to be as quiet as he could, but also as close as he could be to the General.

R2 followed Grievous and his droids into a dark room at the end of a busy hallway. Lucky for R2, the hallway was filled with astromech droids running errands for the Separatists. For those few moments, R2 was safe. But once they got to the dark room, there was nothing to be seen in there but a gigantic Hologram projector and a grey cushioned chair. R2 hid behind a wall as two of the Droid General's MagnaGuards, each armed with electrostaffs, marched into the room to stand behind their master.

General Grievous turned back to the Super Battle Droid he had been talking to earlier and said, "You may leave."

That was all that was said before the battle droid had rushed out of the room. Grievous reached for a switch on his armrest and clicked the holoprojector on.

A towering image of Count Dooku appeared on the projector. R2 began to record the confrontation.

The General lowered his head in respect. "Count Dooku, what a pleasure to finally speak to you again at this fine new Separatist base." Grievous said, gesturing with his hand around the room.

Dooku's eyes sagged, not the least bit impressed. "Quite." Dooku replied. He quickly changed the subject. "Don't try to fool me, General, I know what has happened."

Grievous glanced from left to right, then back at the Count.

"I do not know what you mean."

Dooku's brow furrowed. He asked again. "Anything happening having to do with something important? Like the Republic? For example, let's say….a Jedi?"

Grievous took a deep breath and replied, "I'm sorry about that Count. The Jedi who came by earlier was—it was really nothing. So what if he destroyed a couple of battle droids? He left."

The Count's voice boomed angrily, "You let him go? You didn't think that he would leave and tell his Republic allies about this?"

Grievous' fingers ripped through the armrests, furious. The Count narrowed his eyes at the General and spoke deeper.

"Yet another incident. More delay. Let me remind you that this is not something to expect from a high-ranking General."

The hologram disappeared in an instant. Grievous growled as he looked at the two MagnaGuards still stationed behind him. "How DARE HE!" He shouted, his echo shaking the room.

R2, who had been listening attentively the whole time, accidentally let out a small beep.

Grievous turned around quickly, and the MagnaGuards raised their electrostaffs defensively. Grievous said out loud, "What was that?" R2 rolled backwards, deeper into the shadows behind the wall, as Grievous and the guards passed by. Once the droid had heard a door on the opposite side of the room close with a bang, R2 knew that they were finally gone. R2 rolled out from his hiding place and opened his grasping arm compartment. The explosive charges rolled onto the floor.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Reinforcements

Anakin and Obi-Wan had been waiting inside the jungle of Yavin IV for hours, and there had still been no a sign of R2, or a call from him on his comlink. Obi-Wan, who wiped his forehead with his sleeve, gave Anakin a cross expression.

"Well?"

"Master—" Anakin stopped.

_Did I just call him Master? Anakin, you're not a Padawan anymore!_

He started over again. "Obi-Wan, I'm sure R2 is working hard on the job. He would never let anybody get in his way….and he would never quit, either!"

He was surprised at how loud his voice became. However, Obi-Wan was not convinced.

He turned his back to Anakin and said, half to Anakin and half to himself, "Hopefully."

A moment of complete silence passed over the Jedi. You could hear the leaves rustling in the trees and the buzzing of bugs. Then, Obi-Wan's eyes became wide in surprise.

"Anakin? Do you-?" Obi-Wan asked, cutting himself off.

Anakin closed his eyes. "I sense it, too. R2 is ready."

Obi-Wan's comlink blinked from his utility belt. He unclipped it and began to speak into it: "R2, is that you?" R2 gave an affirmative beep. Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged a relieved look. Obi-Wan continued to talk into his comlink.

"If the charges are set, I want you to get out of there quick. Wait for Anakin and I. We have some unfinished business." Obi-Wan put the comlink back onto his belt, then looked back to Anakin.

"Go back to your starfighter. Tell the Republic cruiser to land their reinforcements immediately."

**. . .**

Ahsoka was still floating in her starfighter above the Republic Attack Cruiser. All this time she had been swerving in space, waiting for something—anything!—to come out of Yavin IV's atmosphere. She sighed as she drummed her hands on the controls.

Her astromech droid that had been chosen to accompany her, R5-E6, twisted it's head from left to right, always alert.

"I'm helpless." Ahsoka told R5-E6, slumping back into her chair. R5 didn't reply and continued to keep an eye out for any incoming enemy ships. Then Ahsoka heard a buzzing sound in her ear, accompanied by a faint voice.

"Ahsoka Tano?"

She sat up in surprise, banging her head against the ceiling of her cockpit. She flinched in pain. Ahsoka replied, "Yes?" She realized that it was her comlink that had said her name. The voice continued, "Were receiving a message from General Skywalker. We will broadcast his message to your holoprojector." Ahsoka smiled, glad to have something to do.

"Thanks, Rex." She said, knowing that the voice was that of the Captain. An image of Anakin Skywalker appeared on her starfighter's holoprojector. Apparently, Anakin could see both Ahsoka and the passangers inside the Republic Attack Cruiser. She knew this when Anakin said his first words: "Hey, Captain Rex. Hey, Snips."

After Ahsoka had greeted him warmly, Anakin continued. "Obi-Wan and I had recently formulated a plan. My astromech droid, R2-D2, went inside the Separatist base undercover and set up highly explosive charges, capable of destroying the base. But also, we have set up these charges because we know that once General Grievous finds out, he'll try to escape. That's where Obi-Wan and I come in."

Ahsoka nodded and asked, "So why are you contacting us?"

Anakin answered, "Because if we're going to stop Grievous from fleeing, were gonna need some clone troopers to help us. Rex, can you send the squad down anytime soon?" Captain Rex, who was on the Cruiser, reached for his clone helmet and placed It over his bald head.

"We'll be there."

Ahsoka waited for Anakin to say what she could do to help. But all Anakin merely said was, "Ahsoka, stay up there. I'll meet you above Yavin IV later." As Anakin vanished, Ahsoka shook her head. _Typical Anakin._

On Yavin IV, Anakin turned off his starfighter's holoprojector.

"Well, Artoo, looks like they're—" He started saying, but then he remembered that R2 was in the base. Alone. Unprotected. The thought made Anakin wince.

After a long moment of wondering about R2, Anakin finally closed the starfighter's cockpit hatch and went back into the forest. As he walked through the jungle, he thought more about R2. Even though he was simply an astromech droid, R2 was more than a machine that comes with him wherever he goes.

He was a comrade. A friend. Anakin's attachment to R2 had even bewildered Obi-Wan. Jedi are not allowed to have relationships, the rules state. But was a droid different?

Anakin's mind pondered this. But the more Anakin thought about his relationship with R2, the more he thought about a REAL relationship that could get him in big trouble.

_If anyone ever found out about Padme and I—_BUMP! Anakin fell backwards into a soft pile of leaves. He groaned. As Anakin struggled to lift his head, he became conscious that he had smacked into a tree.

_That was stupid!_

Anakin then turned his head and saw Obi-Wan staring at him like he was crazy. Anakin's face felt hot.

Obi-Wan snorted and gave him a hand, which Anakin and leaped back on his feet.

"Hey, Obi-Wan." Anakin said, trying to sound like nothing had happened. Obi-Wan replied, "Hello, Anakin. Lovely weather here, yes?" Anakin rolled his eyes but gave Obi-Wan a wide grin. Obi-Wan asked him, "Did you send the message?"

Anakin answered quickly, "Yeah. They said they'll send reinforcements right away. Captain Rex and the squad are coming." Suddenly, Anakin heard a beep come from behind a bush. The bush rustled and out from behind it came….

"Artoo!"

Anakin rushed up to the little droid, who was beeping cheerfully. Anakin bent down to stroke R2 with his gloved hand. "What's up, little guy?" He asked. "You've got those charges set up?" R2 responded with a positive series of whistles.

Anakin turned to Obi-Wan. "Artoo says that the charges are set. Are you ready to activate them?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan slipped out a small remote from his utility belt. He lifted his finger above a small red button.

"3…..2…..1….."

Obi-Wan's finger slammed down on the red button. A time keeper appeared on the screen below the button. Obi-Wan grabbed his lightsaber.

"We have 30 minutes."

**. . .**

General Grievous pushed his way through a crowd of battle droids to get to the dark room he had used to talk to Dooku. He decided to contact the Count again, and tell him that there had been no sign of Jedi or Republic activity for hours.

_That will show that old man that I deserve this position! _Grievous thought to himself.

He slammed open the door and walked inside. He didn't care that his bodyguards weren't with him, not thinking that he needed him.

Suddenly, his huge foot got caught onto something. Grievous looked down and gasped. He wrenched his foot out from underneath what looked like an explosive charge! There were two of them! The red lights were blinking, and they were pinned to the floor. General Grievous ran out of the room in alarm. Everyone in the hallway stopped their work and looked at Grievous. He let out a loud, horrible cough.

"Evacuate the station immediately! And don't tell Dooku about this!"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Evacuation

Anakin and Obi-Wan hadn't been waiting even a minute before they both sensed it. The two turned to each other.

"This is where the fun begins!" Obi-Wan said mockingly with a smirk. Anakin rolled his eyes and grinned.

"It's true!"

And with that, the two Jedi unhooked their lightsabers and began their sprint through the jungle, ready for their advance on Grievous and his troops. Back at the Separatist base, an alarm had been sounded and everyone in the building had gone haywire! Battle droids flailed their arms in the air and astromechs were whistling frantically as they rolled their way through the crowd. Grievous, just as everyone else was doing, headed toward the entrance, his black cape flying. But then, he realized what the Republic's plan was.

_I see! They cannot fool me! _

He turned around and fled to the back door.

_Jedi scum!_

The droid General pushed his way through the mess of battle droids, elbowing—or more like smashing—through his troops on his way. But Grievous wasn't the only one on the small moon who was thinking smart.

The two Jedi had quickly found their way to the base, and were now evading a flurry of laser blasts that came from the surprised battle droids. As Anakin and Obi-Wan fought back-to-back, Anakin shouted, "Obi-Wan, I don't think were getting anywhere with this!"

Obi-Wan replied as he jumped over a Super Battle Droid and beheaded it from behind, "Grievous should be on his way out any minute now!" Just as quickly as he had said his statement, Obi-Wan felt something nudge his mind. It was a vision of General Grievous drilling through battle droids, and coming out the back door of the base. He cackled evilly, let out a cough, and began to prepare his personal starfighter for take off.

They would never get there in time if they had to go through the entire base, and because of the large amount of Separatists droids, it would be practically suicide. Obi-Wan looked up at the top of the large building, and immediately thought up a plan.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan called as he squatted. "On the roof!" Then with a swift leap, Obi-Wan was standing tall on top of the base. It happened so fast that the droids had to take a moment to process what just occured. Anakin looked up at his old Master in confusion.

_Well, I guess whatever he's doing means something. Better follow him. _

And with that, Anakin obeyed Obi-Wan and flipped to the rooftop. Out of their daze, the battle droids started to blast at them. Obi-Wan pointed his index finger to the other side of the base. "Perhaps Grievous was smarter then we thought!" Obi-Wan commented, and Anakin quickly knew Obi-Wan's plan. Anakin shook his head.

"Or not!"

In a matter of seconds, the two had made there way to the other side of the roof and landed in front of the back door. Grievous, who was about to depart from Yavin IV, turned around to discover the Jedi who had their lightsabers at ready. Grievous gave a deep, menacing laugh as he stared at the Jedi.

"General Grievous!" Anakin stated, shaking his head. "Dooku's going to be very disappointed that his base blew up, isn't he?"

Grievous grabbed his two lightsabers, one green and one blue, and activated them with a click.

"I'm sure I could make it up to him. When I kill the two best Jedi!" He replied coolly, his yellow reptilian eyes wide.

"If you think that's gonna happen, then you're out of luck!" A voice said from behind him. Grievous turned around and was met by the stare from a Republic Clone Trooper's helmet and about 30 other clones surrounding him. Anakin smiled as he recognized the Clone Trooper who was leading the rest of the clones.

"About time, huh, Rex?" He asked jokingly.

"Better late then never!" Captain Rex replied. While Anakin and Rex shared a quick greeting, Grievous ran quickly to his fighter, hopping inside and closing the hatch. Rex was the first to notice.

"He's getting away! Blast him!"

All the clones shot their blasters at Grievous's starfighter, but the small ship's rear deflector shields were up and the blasts just vanished when they hit the back of the fighter.

They were too late.

Grievous quickly rose into the sky and broke through the planet's atmosphere. Anakin gritted his teeth. _Escaped again. That coward!_

As if reading Anakin's mind, Obi-Wan looked to Anakin and said, "Let's hope Ahsoka is up for the challenge!" Anakin imagined Ahsoka sitting in the cockpit of her red starfighter, an excited look on her face as she blasts down Grievous.

"She is. I know it."

**. . .**

Ahsoka was nearly asleep when R5 began to whistle energetically. She sat up (this time careful not to bang her head on the ceiling), and turned her full attention on Yavin IV.

"What is it?" Ahsoka asked the astrodroid. But before the little droid could explain, she could see what was happening. A tiny starfighter came speeding out from the planet and began to shoot at her.

"Grievous!" Ahsoka said knowingly, shifting her fighter out of autopilot. She turned on her comlink headset and contacted the Republic Attack Cruiser. "Cruiser, this is Ahsoka. Grievous is trying to escape and he's shooting at me! Dispatch the clones!"

What looked to Ahsoka like one of the Cruiser's hanger doors opened, and about 10 ARC-170 Starfighters and 5 V-Wings stationed behind Ahsoka. She felt proud to be the leader of this small army of Republic clone ships. One of the Clone pilots who was piloting a V-Wing reached Ahsoka over the comlink.

"What are your orders, General Tano?"

Ahsoka tried hard not to burst into a fit of giggles. She kept her composure and replied, "Get that clanker and turn him into scrap metal!" All of the fighter's veered into attack position, and so did Grievous.

_If it's a fight he wants, then that's what he'll get! _She thought to himself.

And so General Tano's assault began.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Explosions

Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Rex's clone squad were still eyeing the spot where Grievous had escaped from Yavin IV. The sun began to set in the distance and the black sky cast a dark shadow on everybody. Especially Anakin, if you know what I mean.

Although there was still hope that his Padawan would be able to defeat the General, he had still wanted to destroy Grevious with his own hands.

_That slime deserves it._

Anakin asked Obi-Wan, who had been talking to Rex, "Shouldn't we go help Ahsoka and the Clone pilots? They could use it." Before Obi-Wan could answer, something started beeping from inside his pocket. He pulled it out. It was the datapad that showed the remaining time for the explosive charges to set off.

_I've completely forgotten! _

But that wasn't the thing he had been truly stunned about at the moment.

_11….10….9….. _

The red numbers on the screen were counting down. Obi-Wan looked to Anakin. "We've got other things to worry about right now! Clear the area!"

The two Jedi, followed by their clone squad, ran the farthest away as they could from the enemy base.

_7…..6…._

Once they were a safe distance, they crowded into some thick bushes.

_4….3….._

Obi-Wan grinned at Anakin, who had his shoulder banged up against his hip. "You better want to cover your ears, my old Padawan!"

…_2…..1._

There was half a second of complete silence, then a loud crash as the Separatist base burst into a million pieces. Melted dark and light green metal clattered all over where the building had been standing just moments ago, and the bursts of flame were blinding. Even after the entire base had been demolished, sparks were still setting off from parts of the grass surrounding the base's previous area, and the metal was steaming hot.

The Jedi and clones who had been hiding in the bushes still had their eyes shut tight and their ears covered. Anakin was the first to open an eye.

"…I think it's over. You can open your eyes now."

Obi-Wan slowly opened both his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Well. I guess were done here. Um, Anakin?"

"Yeah?"

"Your butt's on fire."

Anakin looked down at his derriere and realized he had been sitting on a piece of hot metal. His butt _was _in fact in flames.

"Agh!" He yelped as he stood up. He quickly got his small water capsule from his belt, used his teeth to remove the cap, and poured it all over his bottom. Even though the fire died out, the seat of his pants was black and scorched. Obi-Wan smiled at Anakin, trying to contain his laughter.

"Are you—okay now, Anakin?" He asked him with a snort, a smile still shining on his face.

Anakin looked down at Obi-Wan with a stern look. "What's so funny about this to you?"

"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all."

Anakin could still see Obi-Wan's pleasured expression and asked, "Would you be happy if your butt was on fire?"

"Well, it's not. You're the lucky one, Anakin!"

"Very funny."

**. . .**

While Obi-Wan was having his share of chuckles, back in space above Yavin and it's moons, there was nothing to laugh about. Ahsoka didn't know that space battles were this harsh! One clone pilot had already been shot down, and another broke it's left wing and had to get out of the battle before something worse happened. She didn't even know how she hadn't gotten shot either, especially since some of Grievous's bodyguards had joined in the fight.

Most likely, it was R5 who kept her in the fight without a bruise. R5-E6 rotated his domed-head to face the back of Ahsoka's starfighter, beeping wildly. A MagmaGuard was hot on her trail, preparing to blast her without any mercy.

"I see him!" She told the frantic little astrodroid and flipped the ship the other way, aiming and firing down the bodyguard's ship. There was no time to be proud though, as another bodyguard swooped in, blasting rapidly. Another clone pilot's ship got a direct hit and spun out of control. It exploded as it crashed into the wing of the Republic Cruiser, which was watching the whole fight.

The MagmaGuard who had just shot down a clone pilot began to follow her. "Let's use the same trick on this Separatist skunkbag!" Ahsoka joked as she turned around just as she did to the previous bodyguard.

But before she could do a thing, the guard flipped backwards behind Ahsoka. He was just about to hit the trigger when he had been shot from behind. The MagmaGuard tumbled into deep space.

Ahsoka looked behind her shoulder to see her resucer, who was piloting a yellow Jedi starfighter, followed by a red Delta-7.

"Hey, that's Sky Guy and Kenobi!" Ahsoka said aloud, happy to see them return. Ahsoka contacted Anakin from her headset comlink and said into it, "Thanks, Skywalker. Nice of you to drop by!"

Anakin replied, "And just in time. Now, where's Grievous?" As if answering Anakin's question, Grievous's recognizable personal fighter shot fiercely at Anakin's starfighter.

Anakin was lucky, and with his expert piloting skills, was able to dodge the lasers from Grievous.

"Oh!" Anakin said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "There he is."

The three Jedi in their starfighters all began to target Grievous, chasing him, twisting and turning to follow him. Grievous, who was cursing to himself under his breath, started to plug in some coordinates. When they were all set, and the Jedi came closer to seeing the last of him, he laughed and pulled down a lever.

"Next time, Kenobi and Skywalker, I will crush you with my bare hands!" He shouted to himself with another cackle.

And a cough, of course.

Then, in seconds, Grievous shot into hyperspace, avoiding the Republic once again. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan were dead silent.

Ahsoka held her head low as she spoke to the Jedi through her comlink, "Alright, guys. Looks like the party's over. Let's go back to the ship."

And with that, the starfighters changed their way and embarked to the Cruiser's main hanger. Anakin punched on his wrist comlink.

"We lost. Open the main hanger doors. Skywalker out."

The hanger door creaked open and the three ships landed inside. Although Obi-Wan and Anakin were moaning silently to themselves about the lose, Ahsoka felt worst of all.

_I let them down. _She thought sadly. _I'm never gonna be a Jedi Knight. _

**. . .**

Grievous blasted out of hyperspace, overlooking the planet Coruscant with disgust as he broke through it's atmosphere. Grievous's starfighter, blending in with the congested city streets, landed on the balcony of a suite in an old abandoned skyscraper. He pushed open the hatch and silently yanked open the door that led to the inside of the suite.

When he arrived inside, the room was dark and he couldn't see any sign of Count Dooku. Just the empty room.

_Perhaps the Count forgot about our meeting. _

"Good." Grievous muttered out loud as he prepared to exit.

"Good what?" asked a bone-chilling voice.

Grievous, who was about to reach for the handle, stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned around. Count Dooku stood there, wearing his dark brown cloak over his head, shielding his eyes. Grievous bowed respectfully. "Count Dooku."

He said, as he stared up at Grievous from his bow, "I thought that perhaps you'd forgotten."

The Count lowered his eyes.

"Well, next time you should take a better look at your surroundings. It would make everything much more easier, for me and for you, General."

Grievous cringed. "Um, yes, of course, my lord." Count Dooku removed his hood, revealing his baggy eyes and droopy mouth.

"Now, General Grievous, yet another terrible accident on your part. I just discovered that our most recent base located on the planet Yavin IV has most recently blown up."

"Yes, but—"

"This is not a question, General." Count Dooku interrupted coolly. Grievous winced and replied, "I'm sorry, Count Dooku. The Republic must have somehow gotten the explosive charges into the base. I-I don't know how this happened."

Count Dooku's lips were as tight together as ever.

"We all know that the Sith are smarter then the Jedi. And the Separatists are smarter than any corrupt Republic senator you can find. Grievous, you are our head General. People like you are spoiling our name, one incident after the next."

Grievous asked quietly, "Are you going to fire me?"

"Of course not." The Count replied. "There's no way we could find a replacement in time, so we will have to make due with you." Count Dooku pulled his hood back up and opened the door to exit the suite. He looked back to Grievous as he held the door opened.

"But beware my master Sidious. He is not as forgiving as I am. If you are wise, you will not disappoint him—and me—again."

The door slammed shut, and Grievous was left in the room alone.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: A Forgiving Trip Home

In the main hanger where Ahsoka, Anakin, and Obi-Wan had previously entered, the three had opened their starfighter hatches and made their way to the Cruiser's deck. When they arrived, all the clones had turned their heads to watch as they entered.

The deck was silent for a minute, until Captain Rex, who had his helmet removed, entered the room as well. Even after everything that happened, everyone was still happy Rex, followed by his squad, had made it back safely.

"Were sorry, General Skywalker. General Kenobi. We were too late."

Rex rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Obi-Wan gave him a small smile and rested his hand on Rex's shoulder. "You will have more opportunities in the near future to capture Grievous. He can't hide for long."

"Generals."

The Cruiser clone pilot interrupted as he swiveled in his seat.

"The Jedi Council requested that you contact them by hologram when you came back from Yavin IV. You may contact them in the room to the left of the hall." Anakin nodded, and was followed by a sad Ahsoka and Obi-Wan through the room's doorway.

R2-D2, who had been stationed in his socket on Anakin's fighter the whole time, had beeped and also came along.

Inside the room, a single large holoprojector was placed, and it flickered on when they had walked in. The shriveled green Yoda and cross-armed Mace Windu, both sitting in chairs, appeared in blue on the projector.

"Skywalker, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka. Returned have you from Yavin IV." Yoda said as his ears drooped.

Anakin was the first to speak up. "Yes, Master Yoda. But we have some bad news."

Obi-Wan stepped forward and said, "How about we talk about some good news first?"

Mace Windu replied, "Go ahead. We'd be glad to get some good news during this hard war."

Obi-Wan smiled and continued, "I know that. You've probably heard that on Yavin IV we discovered a secret Separatist base filled with droids. Including Grievous, of course. Thanks to R2-D2…"

Obi-Wan gestured to R2, who proudly whistled.

"We had been able to set up explosive charges and destroy the base. Now, there is hardly anything left where it had been." Yoda's eyebrows perked up as he asked, "And Grievous, inside was he?"

Anakin muttered back to Yoda, "Well, that's where the bad news comes in." Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin and then back at the two awaiting Jedi Masters and said, "Anakin's right. Unfortunately, Grievous slipped through our fingers once again. He escaped the system and we weren't able to follow him."

Mace Windu sighed as he shared a look with Yoda, who looked as unhappy as he was. After a long awkward silence, Mace Windu replied, "That means this war isn't quite over yet. Grievous is still out there, and it's up to us to stop him."

Yoda put up a wrinkly green hand and said, "But achieved they have, a small victory for the Republic. Destroyed is Grievous's newest Separatist base. Good news this is. Have another chance to capture Grievous, we will. Until then, Coruscant you will go to rest. See you soon, we will." And the hologram was over.

Anakin, who had been worried about what the Council would say, relaxed.

He was going back to Coruscant. He would be with his beloved Padme for a little longer. This was great news.

But Ahsoka still felt tense. Her one chance to prove to Anakin that she was not too young or naïve to be a Padawan, and she blew it. Once the hologram ended and died, Ahsoka quickly slipped out of the room and went back to the deck. Anakin noticed Ahsoka leaving, and concerned about his Padawan, followed her out.

He found her sitting in a corner of the deck, resting her chin on her hand disappointed. Anakin sat down next to her. She didn't even look at him, and continued to blankly stare into space.

Anakin sighed and said, half to himself and half to Ahsoka, "We did the best we could."

Ahsoka sighed too and told him, "Yeah, you guys did. I couldn't even shoot down Grievous. You're probably mad at me, aren't you?"

Anakin grinned and shook his head. "You couldn't shoot down Grievous? Nobody can shoot down Grievous! Probably everyone on this Cruiser has tried, and we all can't. And I'm not mad at you. If I'm a little mad at anybody, it would be myself."

Ahsoka glanced at Anakin, her big blue eyes bigger than ever, but then shook her head and turned back to staring at nothing. Anakin tried again. "And I'm sorry I said your dream was stupid. That was even more stupid for me to say that. I was just grouchy because….I kind of had a bad dream that night."

Ahsoka looked at him with surprise, a smile creeping onto her face.

"You had a bad dream?"

"What? It's that hard to believe?"

Ahsoka shook her, a big grin now on her face as she answered, "Well, a little. It's weird that the Hero With No Fear is having bad dreams, you know what I mean?" Anakin smiled, happy to cheer her up and replied, "I guess."

Anakin bumped shoulders with her.

"It'll be our little secret then, Snips?"

Ahsoka snorted and told him, "You can't count on me not telling the whole galaxy!"

"I know."

Then they laughed together as Anakin stood up. "Well, now that we got that covered, we're just gonna go back to Coruscant and take a break." Ahsoka stood up, too, and brushed her skirt.

"Yeah, I know! I can't wait! I really need to take a vacation from all these crazy missions I go on with you!"

Anakin joked, "But there's probably one coming up right around the corner."

"I'm looking forward to it, Sky Guy!" Ahsoka joked back. Finally, the Master and Padawan made their way back to the front of the deck next to Obi-Wan, who had left the communications room a while ago and was waiting for them.

"Oh, there you two are. We were just about to blast into hyperspace. Our pilot here is setting the coordinates for Coruscant." He watched closely as the clone pilot pushed and pulled multiple levers and buttons.

Ahsoka rubbed her hands together and exclaimed, "Great! Back to Silver City…again!" The three of them chuckled, as Captain Rex, who now had a smiling face, came in between all of them.

"I can't wait to get back, either." Rex told them.

"Why?" Ahsoka asked him.

Rex replied with a small grin, "To train some more. And polish my blaster, of course. Never a better time to do that." Ahsoka crossed her arms and smiled back.

"It sounds like fun."

When there was nothing else to say, all four of them stood and watched as the ship blasted into hyperspace from the deck windows.

Another small victory for the Republic. But the Clone Wars is yet to be over.

May the force be with us all.

THE END


	15. Updated

This is just another chapter I've added so that this story will appear under stories recently updated. I hope you enjoyed my re-edited version of this story! I worked very hard to fix all of the errors I made when I first wrote it.

Please write a review telling me what you thought. I'd love to hear it. (:

-Arielle /


End file.
